Radiation-sensitive compositions are routinely used in the preparation of imageable materials including lithographic printing plate precursors. Such compositions generally include a radiation-sensitive component, a radically polymerizable component, an initiator system, and a binder, each of which has been the focus of research to provide various improvements in physical properties, imaging performance, and image characteristics.
Recent developments in the field of printing plate precursors concern the use of radiation-sensitive compositions that can be imaged by means of lasers or laser diodes, and more particularly, that can be imaged and/or developed on-press. Laser exposure does not require conventional silver halide graphic arts films as intermediate information carriers (or “masks”) since the lasers can be controlled directly by computers. High-performance lasers or laser-diodes that are used in commercially-available image-setters generally emit radiation having a wavelength of from about 700 nm, and thus the radiation-sensitive compositions are required to be sensitive in the near-infrared or infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. However, other useful radiation-sensitive compositions are designed for imaging with ultraviolet or visible radiation.
There are two possible ways of using radiation-sensitive compositions for the preparation of printing plates. For negative-working printing plates, exposed regions in the radiation-sensitive compositions are hardened and non-exposed regions are washed off during development. For positive-working printing plates, the exposed regions are dissolved in a developer and the non-exposed regions become an image.
Various negative-working radiation compositions and imageable elements containing reactive polymer binders are known in the art. Some of these compositions and elements are described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,569,603 (Furukawa), U.S. Pat. No. 6,309,792 (Hauck et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,882 (Pappas et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,893,797 (Munnelly et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,787,281 (Tao et al.), U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0118939 (West et al.), and EP 1,079,276A1 (Lifka et al.), and EP 1,449,650A1 (Goto).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,899,994 (Huang et al.) describes negative-working imageable elements containing polymeric binders that have allyl functional groups. EP 1,182,033A1 (Fujimaki et al.) also describes negative-working elements containing polymers with unsaturated carbon-carbon groups. Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,645 (Koike et al.) describes presensitized printing plates comprising a photosensitive imaging layer comprising a polymeric binder that includes both carboxylic groups and pendant carbon-carbon unsaturated groups.
Problem to be Solved
The various radiation sensitive compositions of the art can readily be used to prepare negative-working imageable elements, including those containing polymeric binders with allyl functional groups. However there remains a need to improve chemical (solvent) resistance of the imaged layers in such materials without any loss in digital imaging speed. This problem may be solved using unique polymeric binders having multiple functional groups, such as pendant allyl and cyano groups, but it has been difficult to prepare such polymers without undesirable crosslinking (gelation).